ABSTRACT
Before 1977 the support for APE parties in elections to the Australian House of Representatives was very low, i.e. it never exceeded 2.5 percent. The main APE party in that time period was the Communist Party. This changed, however, when the Australian Democrats emerged on the political stage. Their predecessor was the Liberal Reform Group which later became the Australian Reform Movement and eventually renamed itself the Australia Party. Formed in the late 1960s the Australia Party saw itself as being fundamentally different from the establishment parties (which were portrayed as being beholden to special interests) in that it was grassroots controlled, non-sectional and thus able to represent the “real interests” of Australians. It was vehemently opposed to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war, called for the abolition of military conscription and favored ending all military alliances with foreign powers. It was also opposed to increasing foreign investment in Australia and demanded more spending on education. Other party policies included promoting environmental protection and support for liberal abortion laws.1
